The present invention relates to reverse systems for personal watercraft, and in particular, to an electrical reverse mechanism for personal watercraft.
Jet-propelled personal watercraft have become very popular for recreational boating. Such watercraft are characterized by having a hull containing an internal combustion engine for powering the watercraft, a deck portion providing a passenger area with controls operable by an operator in the passenger area, and a raised, longitudinally extending seat adapted to accommodate one or more riders seated in, straddle fashion on the seat. The engine powers a jet propulsion unit mounted in the bottom rear portion of the hull, the jet propulsion unit including a steerable water discharge nozzle. The controls include a set of generally transversely extending handlebars operatively connected to the steerable water discharge nozzle to facilitate steering of the watercraft by the operator. A reverse thrust gate can be positioned behind the water discharge nozzle to deflect at least a portion of the jet of water forward and underneath the watercraft in order to provide reverse propulsion of the watercraft. When positioned behind the water discharge nozzle, the reverse thrust gate may also providing braking thrust to the watercraft by creating a drag against the forward movement of the watercraft in the water.
Typical reverse thrust gates must be deployed via a manual shift control located nearby the watercraft""s throttle control. Such manual shift controls require the watercraft operator to remove a hand from the throttle control in order to shift from forward to reverse or from reverse to forward, leaving only one hand to steer the watercraft. In addition, in such known types of watercraft, operators cannot determine the position of the reverse gate between forward and reverse without altering their field of vision from the path ahead in order to either attempt to lean over the back of the watercraft and visually determine the position of the reverse gate or at least to the side of the watercraft to check the position of the manual shift lever.
An electrical reverse mechanism in a jet propelled personal watercraft having a jet pump with a nozzle that outputs a jet of water rearward of the watercraft for its propulsion, the watercraft having a hull defining a rider""s area to accomodate a rider. The electrical reverse mechanism includes a reverse thrust gate that is mounted adjacent to the nozzle and is mechanically pivotable by an electric motor between two positions, full-up and full-down. In the full-up position, the reverse thrust gate permits full-forward propulsion of the watercraft. In the full-down position, the reverse thrust gate permits either full-reverse propulsion or braking of the watercraft.
The electrical reverse mechanism may include a directional control toggle switch positioned nearby the rider""s area. The toggle switch outputs a forward signal when it is toggled to a forward position, and a reverse, signal when it is toggled to a reverse position. The motor pivots the reverse gate based on the signals supplied to, it by the toggle switch. The motor pivots the reverse gate towards the full-up position when receiving the forward signal and towards the full-down position when receiving the reverse signal.
The electrical reverse mechanism may include a display meter that displays an indication of the relative position of the reverse gate between the fill-up and fill-down positions.
The electric reverse mechanism may include a reverse indicator that indicates when the reverse gate is not in the full-up position.